Justices are well-off, well-traveled

[BigDaddy44]

Source: CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Most of the Supreme Court justices piled up a lot frequent flyer miles in 2007, jetting to such exotic locales as Austria, India and Hawaii, according to financial disclosure reports released Friday.

And they generally have a good bit of spending money for their travels, based on reported investment income.

The records, which were released Friday by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, confirm what has been known for some time: that most of the justices are relatively well-off financially.

The wealthiest justice may be David Souter, with a wise investment he made years ago in a Vermont bank paying off handsomely. His assets in Chittenden Corp. are valued from $5 million to $25 million.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/06/scotus.finances/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

[Doctor_J]

1. Racketeering charges should be brought against Fat Tony, Slappy,

Alito, and Roberts as soon as the new AG takes office. Long sentences in real prisons would deter the rest of the hyper-partisan GOP flunkies who have slithered into office over the last 8 years. Offer prison-free sentences to any of the criminals who resigns within 48 hours after the racketeering trial begins.

[DCKit]

2. That's not very Democratic of you.

Democrats do investigations first - and look for real evidence.

[Doctor_J]

3. The evidence doesn't have to be "looked for" - they flaunt

Scalia should have been impeached the day after he ruled on Cheney's business. The Scalia 5 should have been impeached on Dec 13, 2000. Alito and Roberts both lied, blatantly, at their confirmation hearings. These people need to be punished, publicly and severely, for the damage they've have done to the country and the laws they have broken. And Repukes are such cowards that if that the day after Scalia puts on his Leavonworth gear, the whole craven lot of them will be sobbing and ratting out their co-conspirators. If a couple of them are waterboarded on PBS, this criminal behavior will stop.

[DogPoundPup]

4. Skanklia went suck (I mean Duck) hunting with Chainy

during that controversial case too didn't he? WOW...just breathtakingly arrogant and REFUSED TO RECUSE HIMSELF as well.

[Tat]

5. Tisk Tisk

‘Let the jury consider their verdict,’ the King said, for about the twentieth time that day.

‘No, no!’ said the Queen. ‘Sentence first—verdict afterwards.’

‘Stuff and nonsense!’ said Alice loudly. ‘The idea of having the sentence first!’

‘Hold your tongue!’ said the Queen, turning purple.

‘I won’t!’ said Alice.

‘Off with her head!’ the Queen shouted at the top of her voice. Nobody moved.

[Shipwack]

6. Yep, and then...

They talk.

They ask for co-operation.

They wait.

Ask for co-operation again.

And wait some more.

They firmly ask for co-operation.

They wait while being mocked.

And then...

And then...

They write a stern letter!

[mac2]

8. Don't bet on it.

It will be...unite and forget the past. Let's look to the future. Where has that gotten us since 2000?

[mac2]

7. Our public employees are into the kitty too much.

We have huge debt and they fly around the world? People are losing their homes, freedoms, etc. How disconnected are they from the rest of us?

Why isn't the GAO protesting and refusing the funds? Our Secretary of Treasury should be impeached for letting them do it (and Bush's Faith Based Charity, fraud in Iraq, etc.).

[Igel]

9. Yes, but there are three sources for their travel funds.

First, they do undoubtedly make some trips at the public's expense. Probably not many, they're busy enough with other trips.

Second, they are invited to conferences and workshops. Part of their job goes beyond issuing rulings, it's also lecturing. They're frequently giving workships or talks at meetings held to furnish professional improvement hours for attorneys, as well as talking to civic groups. I doubt the government pays their way for those, or that they pay their own way.

Third, personal travel, the focus on this article. "And they generally have a good bit of spending money for their travels, based on reported investment income." That "investment income" wouldn't be investments using US government money; those would be their personal income. They're not poor; by the time you get to be a supreme court justice, you've most likely practiced law and have decent reputation, or you're tenured at a decent law school. Your spouse is unlikely to clean bathrooms at Chuck E. Cheese's.

Unless their earnings and investments are appropriated by the government, the GAO has nothing to say about how they use their personal money.

[mac2]

10. Apparently it is more than usual.

[Carnea]

11. As other posters have pointed out.

Most Supreme Court Justices are kinda rich before they get the job. It's kind of like accusing a Presidential Candidate or Senator of having money.

Second more of a pedantic complaint but I wouldn't exactly call Hawaii or Austria exotic. I mean Hawaii is a US state with actual Americans and Austria is a fairly vanilla country located in Europe. (I'll give you India)

Though I'm sure all the CNN reporters spend their vacation time in the travel trailer park on route 7.